I had very little knowledge of the conflicts occurring in the Middle East before this class. Even now, I feel like there is so much more to know and understand. It was incredibly important for me to learn why these people are fighting. I had no idea that the Israelis had pushed the Palestinians out of their home because the world leaders said it was ok for them to do this. I really didn’t know very much about Judaism or Islam either. The Chicago trip really helped me become aware of the differences in our religions. I didn’t realize that Muslims think of Jesus as an important messenger, just not the Messiah. I really didn’t know anything about the Muslim community except that the women wore head coverings. There isn’t anything that comes to mind that I read where I completely disagreed with what the author was stating. The readings have made me think a lot more about how this conflict is affecting me, though. A bible verse that comes to mind when I think of this conflict is Romans 13:8, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” I think this verse is trying to remind me that I am always in debt to give others love. I may not agree with them, but it does not mean I should wish ill upon them. I think that the people in the holy land should consider living together, they may not love one-another, but they owe each other a certain amount of tolerance and compassion. Each side has seen terrible things happen to their people, and each side deserves peace in their homes. This being said, I have to trust that God will take care of the world and will help these people come together and live in peace.
Katelyn Rosevear
Can peace come to the holy land? This pressing question has been asked for many years. Studying both sides of this conflict brought me a new understanding of the turmoil in Israel. The Jews and Arabs both claim to be the rightful owners of the same land. Before reading Chacour’s book Blood Brothers, I had little understanding of how violent the takeover of Israel truly was. It saddened me to learn that and endeavor to bring peace to the Jews led to the devastation of so many Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. I can see why both groups would desire to live in the land of Israel and why both Jew and Arabs believe they are the rightful inhabitants, but I do not think either group has yet taken measure that will lead to peace. Instead they have made decisions, which benefit their own cause rather than facilitating peace and unity between the Jews and Arabs. As a Christian I do acknowledge the Jew’s claim to the land of Israel. Genesis 13:14-16 tells of God’s promise of land of Israel specifically to the Jews. Christians cannot ignore the multiple times God clearly promised the land of Israel to the Jews. Christians should continue to support the Jews and efforts to bring peace and unity to the land of Israel. After further looking at the conflict in Israel, I have come to the conclusion that peace will not come easily to the Jews and Arabs, and will be incredibly difficult to obtain. In an ideal situation, I think peace could best be found in a one-state Israel. This would require Arabs and Jews to work and live together in harmony. In order for this solution to work out, each group would have to put their prejudices for each other aside and desire what is best for the entire nation, not just themselves and their people. Also because a one-state would leave Jews in the minority (a factor, which has deterred most Jews from seeking a one-state solution), there would need to be a way of creating equal representation of the Jews and Arabs, allowing each to have an equivalent voice in the nation. I think this is a question we will still be asking for years to come, as peaceful solutions will not occur overnight; rather it will take time, cooperation, and a new perspective to create peace in Israel.
Kelsie Eichler
When I saw the Durable Peace book after I bought it, I knew this section of the class was going to be a tough one. This book has been pretty rough to get through, but I think that I have deepened my understanding of the material that the book talked about and what we talked about in class. I know for certain that my understanding of all things Israel have deepened, but that was really not hard to do because I did not know much about it to begin with. This is why I thought this section and topic was going to be rough, I did not have a very good foundation to start on. Now I know without a doubt the differences between Israelis and Palestinians, I say this regretfully, but before this class, I did not really even know that there was such a difference between the two. I guess before I just never really wanted to know much about them and now I can say and be proud of the fact that I am a little more informed than before. Another thing I learned was brought up in a minute report. We were talking about the land and some people thought it was silly that they were fighting over the land, after all it is just land, there is plenty more of it. And I agreed at first, but then we started talking about how this land was promised to people and that is why they wanted it, and then on the other side they had been living on that land forever. Both sides had good reasons to want to be in that land. It made me realize that this land does mean more to the people than just a place to live, they feel like it is there for them, it was given to them. There is so much going on between the two peoples and so I cannot really say that I disagreed with much that was presented to me. The only thing I would say is that I think/hope that one day both of these people can live together in the Holy Land. I hope that peace does come to them and it lasts once it gets there. The Biblical perspective that I have is that we are all God’s chosen children and He loves us all. I know that the Bible says he gave the land to the Israelites but I think that we are all chosen people and I think that hopefully one day everyone can see this and be able to share the land.
Taylor Damavoletes
Before this class, I did not know much about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I did not realize that it was such a big deal and has been a big deal for years. I did not even know much about the groups of people involved. I cannot imagine living with a huge wall between myself and another group of people that my society tells me to hate. It would be a constant burden knowing that there is not peace with my neighbors. Chacour discusses in his book Blood Brothers, that he was hateful towards certain people at times in his life because of the circumstances he and his family were in. He then realized that he was no better than a murderer, because hating people is a sin, just like murdering people is a sin. If Chacour, who was taught to be a peacemaker by his father, was hateful, then I cannot begin to imagine how hateful people with parents who teach them to hate are. One thing that I learned about culture is that certain things are more important to them than they are for others. For example, land. Land is the whole reason why this conflict is even going on. Along with this, I realize now that compromise is not always so easy for every culture. Of course, this situation is very complex and it would take quite some time for compromising to work. However, some cultures just go about things way differently than our culture might. Sometimes we may think their ways are strange, but they do things the way they do for various reasons that we should attempt to understand, even if we do not agree. The thing that is still unclear to me is why there is so much tension between the Jews and Palestinians. It seems like it would be exhausting to keep up the hatred for each other year after year. Wouldn’t they want to just make up already? At some point it has to stop. I am glad that we were able to read about the conflict from different point of views. Because of this, I think it helped me realize that there are good and not so good people on both sides, and that we should not develop our opinions of the Jews or Palestinians based upon the stereotypes. It is a breath of fresh air knowing that there are people on both sides who truly want peace. I think that Jesus summed it up perfectly on the Sermon on the Mount when he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” in Matthew 5:9. When thinking about it from a Biblical perspective, I think it is also important to remember Galatians 3:28, where it says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I know that people’s conflicts often distract us from the truth, but that truth is that we are all loved by God the same. I think that everybody just needs to find Jesus. That would clear up so many problems in this crazy world. This whole issue impacts my faith because it is a challenge trying to figure out what our role is because we are called to be peacemakers. Sometimes it seems like there is really nothing we can do about it, but praying is a start.
Can Peace Come to the Holy Land?
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Ashley Cleveland
I had very little knowledge of the conflicts occurring in the Middle East before this class. Even now, I feel like there is so much more to know and understand. It was incredibly important for me to learn why these people are fighting. I had no idea that the Israelis had pushed the Palestinians out of their home because the world leaders said it was ok for them to do this. I really didn’t know very much about Judaism or Islam either. The Chicago trip really helped me become aware of the differences in our religions. I didn’t realize that Muslims think of Jesus as an important messenger, just not the Messiah. I really didn’t know anything about the Muslim community except that the women wore head coverings. There isn’t anything that comes to mind that I read where I completely disagreed with what the author was stating. The readings have made me think a lot more about how this conflict is affecting me, though. A bible verse that comes to mind when I think of this conflict is Romans 13:8, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.” I think this verse is trying to remind me that I am always in debt to give others love. I may not agree with them, but it does not mean I should wish ill upon them. I think that the people in the holy land should consider living together, they may not love one-another, but they owe each other a certain amount of tolerance and compassion. Each side has seen terrible things happen to their people, and each side deserves peace in their homes. This being said, I have to trust that God will take care of the world and will help these people come together and live in peace.
Katelyn Rosevear
Can peace come to the holy land? This pressing question has been asked for many years. Studying both sides of this conflict brought me a new understanding of the turmoil in Israel. The Jews and Arabs both claim to be the rightful owners of the same land. Before reading Chacour’s book Blood Brothers, I had little understanding of how violent the takeover of Israel truly was. It saddened me to learn that and endeavor to bring peace to the Jews led to the devastation of so many Palestinians, both Christian and Muslim. I can see why both groups would desire to live in the land of Israel and why both Jew and Arabs believe they are the rightful inhabitants, but I do not think either group has yet taken measure that will lead to peace. Instead they have made decisions, which benefit their own cause rather than facilitating peace and unity between the Jews and Arabs. As a Christian I do acknowledge the Jew’s claim to the land of Israel. Genesis 13:14-16 tells of God’s promise of land of Israel specifically to the Jews. Christians cannot ignore the multiple times God clearly promised the land of Israel to the Jews. Christians should continue to support the Jews and efforts to bring peace and unity to the land of Israel. After further looking at the conflict in Israel, I have come to the conclusion that peace will not come easily to the Jews and Arabs, and will be incredibly difficult to obtain. In an ideal situation, I think peace could best be found in a one-state Israel. This would require Arabs and Jews to work and live together in harmony. In order for this solution to work out, each group would have to put their prejudices for each other aside and desire what is best for the entire nation, not just themselves and their people. Also because a one-state would leave Jews in the minority (a factor, which has deterred most Jews from seeking a one-state solution), there would need to be a way of creating equal representation of the Jews and Arabs, allowing each to have an equivalent voice in the nation. I think this is a question we will still be asking for years to come, as peaceful solutions will not occur overnight; rather it will take time, cooperation, and a new perspective to create peace in Israel.
Kelsie Eichler
When I saw the Durable Peace book after I bought it, I knew this section of the class was going to be a tough one. This book has been pretty rough to get through, but I think that I have deepened my understanding of the material that the book talked about and what we talked about in class. I know for certain that my understanding of all things Israel have deepened, but that was really not hard to do because I did not know much about it to begin with. This is why I thought this section and topic was going to be rough, I did not have a very good foundation to start on. Now I know without a doubt the differences between Israelis and Palestinians, I say this regretfully, but before this class, I did not really even know that there was such a difference between the two. I guess before I just never really wanted to know much about them and now I can say and be proud of the fact that I am a little more informed than before. Another thing I learned was brought up in a minute report. We were talking about the land and some people thought it was silly that they were fighting over the land, after all it is just land, there is plenty more of it. And I agreed at first, but then we started talking about how this land was promised to people and that is why they wanted it, and then on the other side they had been living on that land forever. Both sides had good reasons to want to be in that land. It made me realize that this land does mean more to the people than just a place to live, they feel like it is there for them, it was given to them. There is so much going on between the two peoples and so I cannot really say that I disagreed with much that was presented to me. The only thing I would say is that I think/hope that one day both of these people can live together in the Holy Land. I hope that peace does come to them and it lasts once it gets there. The Biblical perspective that I have is that we are all God’s chosen children and He loves us all. I know that the Bible says he gave the land to the Israelites but I think that we are all chosen people and I think that hopefully one day everyone can see this and be able to share the land.
Taylor Damavoletes
Before this class, I did not know much about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. I did not realize that it was such a big deal and has been a big deal for years. I did not even know much about the groups of people involved. I cannot imagine living with a huge wall between myself and another group of people that my society tells me to hate. It would be a constant burden knowing that there is not peace with my neighbors. Chacour discusses in his book Blood Brothers, that he was hateful towards certain people at times in his life because of the circumstances he and his family were in. He then realized that he was no better than a murderer, because hating people is a sin, just like murdering people is a sin. If Chacour, who was taught to be a peacemaker by his father, was hateful, then I cannot begin to imagine how hateful people with parents who teach them to hate are. One thing that I learned about culture is that certain things are more important to them than they are for others. For example, land. Land is the whole reason why this conflict is even going on. Along with this, I realize now that compromise is not always so easy for every culture. Of course, this situation is very complex and it would take quite some time for compromising to work. However, some cultures just go about things way differently than our culture might. Sometimes we may think their ways are strange, but they do things the way they do for various reasons that we should attempt to understand, even if we do not agree. The thing that is still unclear to me is why there is so much tension between the Jews and Palestinians. It seems like it would be exhausting to keep up the hatred for each other year after year. Wouldn’t they want to just make up already? At some point it has to stop. I am glad that we were able to read about the conflict from different point of views. Because of this, I think it helped me realize that there are good and not so good people on both sides, and that we should not develop our opinions of the Jews or Palestinians based upon the stereotypes. It is a breath of fresh air knowing that there are people on both sides who truly want peace. I think that Jesus summed it up perfectly on the Sermon on the Mount when he says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” in Matthew 5:9. When thinking about it from a Biblical perspective, I think it is also important to remember Galatians 3:28, where it says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” I know that people’s conflicts often distract us from the truth, but that truth is that we are all loved by God the same. I think that everybody just needs to find Jesus. That would clear up so many problems in this crazy world. This whole issue impacts my faith because it is a challenge trying to figure out what our role is because we are called to be peacemakers. Sometimes it seems like there is really nothing we can do about it, but praying is a start.
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